Career and Education Opportunities for Personal Chefs in Essex, Vermont

If you want to be a personal chef, the Essex, Vermont area offers many opportunities both for education and employment. The national trend for personal chefs sees this job pool growing by about 4.3% over the next eight years. In general, personal chefs prepare meals in private homes.

The average wage in the general category of Cooking jobs is $13 per hour or $27,283 per year in Vermont, and an average of $12 per hour or $24,401 per year nationwide. Personal chefs work in a variety of jobs, including: culinary worker, certified personal chef, and private chef.

There are fourteen schools of higher education in the Essex area, including two within twenty-five miles of Essex where you can get a degree to start your career as a personal chef. Personal chefs usually hold a post-secondary certificate, so you can expect to spend a short time training to become a personal chef if you already have a high school diploma.

CAREER DESCRIPTION: Personal Chef

In general, personal chefs prepare meals in private homes.

Personal chefs peel and cook vegetables and meats, and bake breads and pastries. They also formulate menus in line with employers' needs and diet restrictions. Equally important, personal chefs have to specialize in preparing fancy dishes and/or food for special diets. They are often called upon to develop and explore new cuisines. They are expected to travel with employers to vacation homes to furnish meal preparation at those locations. Finally, personal chefs ready meals in private homes in line with employers' recipes or tastes, handling all meals for the family and possibly for other household staff.

Every day, personal chefs are expected to be able to control objects and devices with precise control. They need to listen to and understand others in meetings. It is also important that they move quickly in order to hold onto or control objects and devices.

It is important for personal chefs to stock, organize, and clean kitchens and cooking utensils. They are often called upon to direct the operation and organization of kitchens and all food-related efforts, including the presentation and serving of food. They also serve meals and snacks to employing families and their guests. They are sometimes expected to shop for or order food and kitchen supplies and equipment. Somewhat less frequently, personal chefs are also expected to formulate and ready food for parties and other social events.

And finally, they sometimes have to formulate menus in line with employers' needs and diet restrictions.

Like many other jobs, personal chefs must be able to work independently and make decisions on their own and have exceptional integrity.

Similar jobs with educational opportunities in Essex include:

Chef. Direct the preparation, seasoning, and cooking of salads, soups, or other foods. May plan and price menu items, order supplies, and keep records and accounts. May participate in cooking.

Fast Food Cook. Prepare and cook food in fast food restaurants with limited menus. Duties of the cooks are limited to preparation of a few basic items and normally involve operating large-volume single-purpose cooking equipment.

Institutional Cook. Prepare and cook large quantities of food for institutions, such as schools, hospitals, or cafeterias.

Restaurant Chef. Prepare, season, and cook soups, meats, or other foodstuffs in restaurants. May order supplies, keep records and accounts, price items on menu, or plan menu.

Short Order Cook. Prepare and cook to order a variety of foods that require only a short preparation time. May take orders from customers and serve patrons at counters or tables.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: Personal Chef Training

New England Culinary Institute - Montpelier, VT

New England Culinary Institute, 56 College Street, Montpelier, VT 05602. New England Culinary Institute is a small school located in Montpelier, Vermont. It is a private for-profit school with primarily 4-year or above programs and has 699 students. New England Culinary Institute has an associate's degree program in Culinary Arts/Chef Training which graduated eighty-two students in 2008.

New England Culinary Institute at Essex - Essex Junction, VT

New England Culinary Institute at Essex, 5 Franklin Street, Essex Junction, VT 05452. New England Culinary Institute at Essex is a small school located in Essex Junction, Vermont. It is a private for-profit school with primarily 4-year or above programs and has 105 students. New England Culinary Institute at Essex has 2 areas of study related to Personal Chef. They are:

Quality Coffee Certification Program:
The purpose of QCCP is to provide operators with sales tools and knowledge that will help them begin or enhance their own quality coffee program for their customers.

LOCATION INFORMATION: Essex, Vermont

Essex, Vermont photo by Fancy-cats-are-happy-cats

Essex is situated in Chittenden County, Vermont. It has a population of over 19,649, which has grown by 5.5% over the last ten years. The cost of living index in Essex, 95, is below the national average. New single-family homes in Essex cost $228,000 on average, which is below the state average. In 2008, six new homes were built in Essex, down from thirteen the previous year.

The three big industries for women in Essex are educational services, health care, and computer and electronic products. For men, it is computer and electronic products, educational services, and construction. The average travel time to work is about 19 minutes. More than 45.6% of Essex residents have a bachelor's degree, which is higher than the state average. The percentage of residents with a graduate degree, 17.1%, is higher than the state average.

The unemployment rate in Essex is 4.8%, which is less than Vermont's average of 5.9%. About 2.6% of Essex's residents are below the poverty line, which is better than the state average.

The percentage of Essex residents that are affiliated with a religious congregation, 39.8%, is less than both the national and state average. Federated Church, Covenant Community Church and Essex Alliance Church are among the churches located in Essex. The largest religious groups are the Catholic Church, the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church.